Blind Spot And Human Error Factors In Mine Crash

The state says dispatcher error and a blind spot were factors in Wednesday's coal mine rail car collision in Perry County that injured five men.

Two rail cars transporting miners collided at the Buckingham Coal mine in Corning. An Ohio Department of Natural Resources report shows a dispatcher allowed a larger track vehicle to enter the mine before confirming a smaller track vehicle was out of the way. They collided in a dip in the track that has a blind spot from both sides. The report says track lighting may have kept operators of the vehicles from seeing each other's lights. The track lighting has been removed, and the company plans to install extra safety measures.